Bring Out Your Dead Interview
I must admit I was impressed when I heard for the first time the debut EP of the young thrash monsters Bring Out Your Dead! So powerful, so aggressive, so energetic, so mature! My brother in arms UHF already made a detailed dissection of it in his review on Blessed Altar Zine
Besides, we immediately contacted the band to understand everything about them in a friendly talk. I’m pleased to have as our guests the guys from Bring Out Yor Dead!
I have said it many times here – just for a while, let’s forget the already established names and bands. Even the newer once. And let’s enjoy the young beasts roaring in the Underground. Ladies and Gentleman, this is thrash made it right!
– Welcome to Blessed Altar Zine, guys! Thank you for accepting our invitation! First of all congratulations on your monstrous debut EP! We are very excited with it, I’m sure you are very proud too…
Ben Lubeck: – Thank you so very much, we’re so stoked to finally present this to everyone. The feedback has been better than we ever could’ve imagined it to be!
– Let’s start our conversation with more details about the band. Please present Bring Out Your Dead to our readers
– We’re just a bunch of nerds that love playing metal music.
– Why “Bring Out Your Dead”?
Justin Stowell: – Okay, so here’s the thing about that. We’re a bunch of nerds who happen to play metal, and try to pay homage (as often as we can) to other artists and works of art. This particular reference happens to come from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” We also just like the way it rolls off the tongue, and it makes for a sweet chant.
– Why Thrash?
Justin Stowell: – This one is another product of the time in which we created the band. Due to our upbringing, most of our musical influences came from the 70s, 80s, and 90s: Black Sabbath, Dio, Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Flotsam and Jetsam etc. Most of the music I listened to was from a physical medium like a record or a cassette because digital download wasn’t really a thing at that point, and I was too young to make money to buy my own. We have to thank our parents for having a great taste in music.
– OK, Bay Area or Teutonic? And what are your main influences and inspirations?
Justin Stowell: – For most of the band, I would have to say Bay Area Thrash is where we took most of our influence: The Big 4, Testament, Exodus and Death Angel really influenced our style back when we first started. That isn’t to say that Teutonic Thrash didn’t influence us. Bands like Kreator, Venom, Sodom and Tankard all have their beautiful place in our metal repertoire.
– If you have to choose three metal albums to take to a desert island, which three you will pick?
Justin Stowell:
- Between The Buried and Me – Colors
- Machine Head – The Blackening
- Metallica – And Justice For All
– Now, back to your debut EP. Only five tracks, but what a performance! It seemed
you have played together for ages…Tell us more, how do you see it? How does it look through your eyes?
Dan – Well you’re right! Mike, Justin and I have been playing these songs for the past 7 years. They feel like they’ve been with us forever, ‘cause they have, and they have evolved alongside us too. Since we added Brian and Ben into the mix it has definitely added that final element to the band that the three of us knew we needed.
– It seems you are very pleased by the work with Randy Belculfine?
Justin Stowell: – Have you listened to the EP? Just kidding, but Randy is a phenomenal recording/mixing and mastering artist. I can’t recommend him enough. He’s quick, professional, and an absolute pleasure to work with. Our 9 hour sessions felt like they were over in 30 mins, and we just couldn’t wait to get back to it. He has us laughing through retakes and never once forced us to rush. The quality of the music and our satisfaction was his top priority…and it shows. The EP sounds amazing.
– I just can’t miss to say here that our good friend Kurt from Boston was the first who actually bought your music! That was so impressive when we understood about it! A bond
Forever!
Was it difficult road for you personally and for the band to get to here today?
Justin Stowell: – Yes, it was absolutely difficult. I would even venture to say that it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. People on the outside tend to think it’s all peaches and cream, but most of what they see is the end product. They didn’t see the endless hours we spent banging our heads against a wall to make it work. They didn’t see the financial investment. They didn’t see the fights. They didn’t see the tears. When you put five minds in the same room and tell them to create art, crazy stuff happens, but we always find a way to pull through and support each other through the tough times.
– What did it take you and what did it give you?
Mike Fontaine: – It took some very long nights, very stressful times, a few blowups and breakdowns, and I’d say it definitely gave us more of an appreciation for artist that do this full time though. It’s crazy eye opening once you realize the amount of stress, energy, and planning that goes into planning even a small run of shows, let alone a full tour or studio recording.
– Naturally comes the this one – when can we expect your full-length debut album?
Justin Stowell: – I can’t give a solid answer, but we’re shooting for sometime next year. Our schedules tend to change around the winter and fall months, so we take on less shows and focus on writing. We already have songs that aren’t on the EP that we play live. We just need a few more and we’ll be ready to hit the studio.
– OK, we’ll be definitely looking forward to it! What are your plans regarding the live shows?
Justin Stowell: – As I previously stated, our schedules tend to change in the fall and winter months, so shows become less of a priority during this time. That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to take shows…we’re just going to be more selective about them. In the near future, our main focus is going to be establishing an online presence, marketing and finishing the album.
Now a typical HR question 😀 – how do you see Bring Out Your Dead in 5 years?
Mike Fontaine: – Well, let’s see. I mean, I guess in my wildest dreams it’d be touring as support for a major act in support of our freshly released second full length haha. Really though, as long as it still involves making music with these guys, I’m happy.
Interview by Count Vlad
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